UP: NDRF teams take guard ahead of ‘flood month’

LUCKNOW: Taking a lesson from last years’ experience when excess water from Nepal saw flooding in both the Ghagra and Sharda rivers, six teams of the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) have been stationed in Lakhimpur Kheri this year.
Relief commissioner Ranvir Prasad said that in 2021, heavy rain in Nepal saw a huge quantity of water being released into the Ghagra and Sharda rivers.Since Lakhimpur Kheri has a lot of flat terrain, the water had inundated several villages and many sorties had to be carried out to bring people to safety. “We had been forced to divert teams from Bahraich and Sitapur. This time, we have placed teams there beforehand so that they can get acclimatized with the area and also train people,” he said.
This year, NDRF teams will be stationed in six districts, including Lakhimpur, Shraswasti, Bahraich, Siddharthnagar, Gorakhpur and Varanasi/Lucknow.
The relief commissioner’s office is also looking to permanently acquire large boats with seating capacity for at least 20 people, against the current smaller boats which seat about 5-6, for more efficient rescue. During non-flood months, which is about nine months, these boats will be given to boatmen for ferrying people.